Viterra Inc VTRAF

VTs Credit Rating affirmed

[vessob]

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool's 'BB' long-term corporate credit rating affirmed - S&P February 21, 2008: 01:39 AM EST BANGALORE, Feb. 21, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) Ratings Services said it has revised the outlook on Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (TSX:VT) , also known as Viterra, to positive from stable, reflecting the company's improved operating performance. The ratings agency said it has affirmed the 'BB' long-term corporate credit, the 'BBB-' bank loan, and the 'BB' senior secured notes ratings on the company. It said the recovery ratings of '1' on the bank loan and '4' on the senior secured notes remain unchanged. S&P said the company's adjusted EBITDA margin on a year-on-year basis improved to 7.2 pct at Oct 31, 2007, from 4.7 pct at Oct 31, 2006. 'This improvement resulted from favourable market conditions in the grain handling and agri-products segments as well as operating efficiency gains and synergies following the acquisition of Agricore United (TSX:AU'Z) ,' the agency said. S&P said the ratings also reflect the fundamentals of the agribusiness industry, which is low margin and cyclical; management's aggressive growth strategy; and the execution risk surrounding the integration of Agricore United's (AU) activities. The positive outlook reflects the company's strong EBITDA generation from the good crop condition in 2007, coupled with the expected synergies, which provides support for the rating, it added.